What Could Have Been
by the-Escape-Goat
Summary: 18 years ago, Lily Potter showed up on Severus Snape's doorstep with a 3-year-old Harry. Now, Remus Lupin finds Severus and Harry living as father and son in America. Can James reconcile with the son he never knew?
1. An Unexpected Halloween Surprise

**A/N: Hello! My very first HP fic! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: Is not mine. Do not own.**

An Unexpected Halloween Surprise

Severus Snape did not expect his life to change so abruptly and dramatically on that rainy Halloween night, but those whose lives change as such rarely do. No, what Severus had been expecting was a lonely, boring evening pretending not to be home so delusional people dressed in ridiculous costumes wouldn't come up to Spinner's End (which they never did). He had just finished dinner and was settling into his battered armchair with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other when the knock came, the fated knock that irreversibly twisted his life so out of proportions that it could scarcely be called Snape's.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"I thought those damn muggles knew to leave me alone," he growled under his breath as he put his book and wine down on the sad-looking coffee table.

Severus swept dramatically up to his doorway and wrenched it open, fully prepared to give the poor muggles a piece of his mind they wouldn't forget. But the scalding words died in his throat as he gazed on a wet, shivering Lily Evans (no, _Potter_) plus a small boy on his doorstep.

"Lily?" He gasped.

"H-hi, Severus," she said miserably.

Severus gaped at his formed childhood friend in a very un-Severus like way.

"Can I come in?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Of-of course!" Severus said, recovering his ability to speak and moved aside so the soggy duo could step into his house. He closed the door after them and quickly muttered a spell to remove the water from the floor. "Can I get you anything? What are you doing here? Are you ok? Are you cold?"

Lily grinned in a way that made Severus's heart pinch but there was sadness in her smile. "One question at a time, Sev! I am a bit cold… and wet… and shivering…"

"Right." Severus summoned two towels from his linen closet and put on two cups of tea. He handed a towel and a cup of tea to Lily who accepted both gratefully and the same to the unnamed boy. Now that they were taken care of to a passable extent, he prepared for more serious questioning.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?" Severus gently asked the woman sitting on his couch.

Lily made a face and sipped her tea before answering. "Please don't take _this_ the wrong way, but I really don't want to talk about that yet."

"Aah. I see. That's fine," Severus said, his head spinning. Only one person could make her upset like that and they both knew him well.

_Potter, you jackass, what have you done now?_ He thought.

"I came to you because you were the only person I could think of," Lily said abruptly. Severus raised an eyebrow. "Well, you know! Tuney and I haven't spoken since I left school and I don't think I can face my other friends right now."

"That's fine," Snape assured her. "I'm assuming you need to spend the night?"

"That would be amazing," she admitted sheepishly.

"I'll go prepare a room," Severus said while rising.

"Wait!" Lily caught his arm. "Thank you. I know we haven't been friends since _that day_ but you still accepted us into your home without question. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, Sev," she confessed.

Severus smiled warmly, transforming his imposing, pinched and unhealthy face to a gentle, happy and attractive visage. "Of course, Lily! What are friends for?" He stood and walked to his only spare bedroom.

Inside, Severus Snape was cheering and rejoicing for all he was worth. His (former) best friend and love of his life had reappeared on his doorstep after a feud with his sworn enemy, asking to stay the night and openly addressing him as a friend! He practically danced around preparing a room for his beloved Lily and that boy-

Wait. The boy. Who was he?

Severus frowned. He was probably her son, which made him _his_ son too. But with Lily as his mother, he couldn't be too insufferable, right?

"Your room is set up and the bathroom's down the hall if you want to shower," Snape announced as he returned to his living room. Lily looked up while the boy stared at his feet.

"Thank you, Sev. If you don't mind, I'm going to go shower?" Lily asked.

"There are towels in the bathroom but you have to hit the showerhead a few times before it'll work properly," he informed her. She grinned a normal, happy _Lily_ smile and left the room.

Severus sighed dreamily and turned around, only to stop dead to face the boy. He was now looking straight into Severus's eyes with a determined expression on his face.

"Erm…" Severus wasn't good with children. At all. Ever.

"You're Severus Snape," the boy informed him. "Mummy and Dad talk about you a lot. Dad isn't very nice about you."

"Like I didn't already know that," Severus mumbled. "What's your name?" He asked louder.

"I'm Harry. Mummy likes you. You two are friends," he stated firmly.

"I suppose we are," Severus said tentatively. He wasn't quite sure where he was with Lily Evans but he didn't was to break the little he had by going too fast (Merlin, he felt like a teenager again!).

"No. You two _are_ friends," Harry said resolutely.

"Alright," Snape agreed.

"Good!" Harry smiled, then snuggled up to Snape on the couch. "Good night, Uncle Severus."

For the second time that night, Severus Snape was at a total loss.

Lily came back into the room after finishing her shower, saw Harry, saw Severus, saw the expression on Severus's face (confused), and laughed. "I'll put him to bed now. Harry's a bit… forward… isn't he?"

"You could say that," Severus confessed. "You could also say blunt. Or tactless."

Lily laughed again. "I guess so. Goodnight, Severus." She walked away carrying her sleeping toddler.

"Goodnight, Lily," Snape mumbled. He sighed and picked up his glass of wine again.

What the _hell_ had just happened?

**A/N: Harry is young here, like 3 or so. Basically the youngest someone can talk coherently. (I have never raised a child so I don't know the youngest they can speak, so please don't hate me if the age doesn't match up!) Also, if any of the characters are OOC, please let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts on how to improve my story ^.^**

**Update for grammar 6/12/11**


	2. Much Time Passes In Vignettes

**A/N: Chapter 2! Hooray!**

**Disclaimer: Still do not own. Sadly.**

**Previously: **

"_**Lily?" He gasped.**_

"_**H-hi, Severus," she said miserably.**_

_**Severus gaped at his formed childhood friend in a very un-Severus like way.**_

"_**Can I come in?" Lily asked hopefully.**_

Much Time Passes (In Vignettes)

_One year later (Harry is 4)_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAA~AAPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUU~" They all sang happily. Harry giggled and beamed then blew out all four of his candles. Everyone clapped and cheered, then Lily began to slice the cake.

It was packed in Spinner's end on the hot summer day. Lily and Severus had thrown young Harry a birthday party, inviting Harry's close friends Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy and their respective parents. Lucius and Severus were old friends and Lily was apparently very close to Alice, Frank and Augusta.

"Thanks for the cake, Mummy!" Harry beamed.

Lily smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "Don't thank me, thank Uncle Severus! He baked it."

Severus blushed and looked down. Lily had been busy setting up the party decorations and potions skilled transferred to cooking! Baking cakes was a perfectly normal activity for a man of his caliber.

"Thanks, Uncle Severus!" Harry sang. He wrapped his arms around the unsuspecting Potions master and gave him a huge hug. "You're my favoritest person in the whole wide world!"

"Hey! What about me?" Lily said laughingly.

"And me!" Draco added.

"And me!" Neville chimed in.

They all laughed as Harry hugged Severus all the more.

_**!**_

_Two years later (Harry is 6)_

"That's the last of them!" Lily said triumphantly as she dumped the last box into the crate. They were having all their non-essential belongings shipped directly to their new home in America so they didn't have to worry about them being handled on a plane.

"I'll miss you both!" Neville said tearily. Harry and Draco hugged Neville again.

"We promise we'll owl you lots and lots!" Harry reassured him.

"Every day, if you want us to!" Draco added earnestly.

Narcissa laughed quietly. "Don't worry, you two. I'm sure you'll see Neville again very soon. Now, let's get in the car; we don't want to miss our flight," she said in her silky, calming voice.

"Tell me _why_ we agreed to moving the muggle way!" Lucius hissed in Severus's ear as he carried the last of the Malfoys' belongings out the door.

"Because of our wives!" Severus hissed back as he helped Lucius with his boxes.

"Why the _hell_ did we ever get married?" The platinum blonde moaned.

"Because you love us very, _very_ much and you'll do anything for us, _right?_" Narcissa yelled in response. Damn women and their uncanny hearing!

"And because we can make your lives a living hell!" Lily said.

"Right!" The men chorused in unison.

_**!**_

_Two years later (Harry is 8)_

_Bip. Bip. Bip. Bip. !_

The moniter flatlined, and she was gone.

"DAMMIT!" Severus screamed and kicked the wall futilely. He watched as the doctors scrambled pointlessly with the defibrillator and punched the cheap Plexiglas that divided them. He had already knew it was too late when they came here; no magic or science could save her from the rare disease. Lucius put a comforting hand on his back but Severus slapped it away. He screamed and raged around the room.

Out in the hall, he heard crying. Normally Snape wouldn't care, but he could tell it was Harry. Severus's rage was assuaged immensely. He wasn't the only one hurt here.

"Harry?" Severus asked questioningly. The sobbing child looked up through teary eyes and Severus's heart clenched. He swooped down and hugged Harry tightly.

"She-she's gone, Dad! I'll n-never see Mum ag-again!" Harry said through his tears. Severus started slightly at Harry calling him 'Dad' but did nothing.

"I know," Severus said comfortingly, stroking the boy's hair. A lone tear slid down Snape's nose. "I know."

**A/N: D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Sad filler chapter is sad. But next chapter, the real plot starts! *is excited***


	3. A Sirius Idea

**A/N: Chapter 3! The first plot-y chapter! Yay! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the HP series so please don't send me to Azkaban for copyright infringement :(**

**Previously:**

"_**She-she's gone, Dad! I'll n-never see Mum ag-again!" Harry said through his tears. Severus started slightly at Harry calling him 'Dad' but did nothing.**_

"_**I know," Severus said comfortingly, stroking the boy's hair. A lone tear slid down Snape's nose. "I know."**_

A Sirius Idea

_10 Years Later_

Remus Lupin was out of a job again. Sadly, because he was a werewolf it was extremely hard for him to keep a job for long.

"…and you'll have until the end of the day to clear out your desk of personal belongings, otherwise they'll be trashed," the portly man finished smugly. How Remus hated the man!

"Right, got it," Remus replied tiredly. The full moon had been two days ago and Remus was still sore. He wanted nothing more to go home and sleep.

"Be out of here by six!" The fat man called over his shoulder.

"I'll be gone long before that," Remus mumbled under his breath. Good riddance to bad bosses! He quickly tossed his remaining stuff into the small cardboard box provided then vacated the premises. Well, now what to do?

Remus Apparated home with his box. He shared a small house in Godric's Hollow with James and Sirius. Peter had married long ago and left. The three remaining were lonely bachelors. Honestly, Lupin wasn't surprised he wasn't in a relationship. After all he _was_ a werewolf, an extremely dangerous Dark creature. Sirius's bachelordom wasn't shocking as he was unable to hold down a monogamous (or really, polygamous either) relationship for over a month in his entire school career. But James? That puzzled the werewolf.

James and Lily had been married and deeply in love when suddenly Lily left, taking 3-year old Harry with her. The two of them had disappeared without warning and no one had heard a peep out of either for a decade and a half. At first, James had been out of his mind with worry and fear of the worst and Remus had been too. But after all this time, the mystery remained unsolved and James was still lonely.

"I'm home!" Remus called into the seemingly-empty house. It wasn't empty, of course. James was moping around here somewhere. Being a Potter, James had vaults upon vaults of gold stored in Gringotts and lived off of that. James had offered Remus some of his Potter money as well but Remus had declined. James already paid for their house and food so what more could Remus ask of him?

"Moony!" Sirius cheered gleefully. He bounded down the steps of their shared home. "You're back early!" Years previous, Sirius's parents finally kicked it and left Sirius, the only heir, all their gold. Like James, Sirius didn't have to work but unlike James, Sirius chose to. He owned and operated a muggle mechanic shop specializing in motorcycles. Sirius made good money amongst wizards and muggles alike.

"Hi, Sirius," Remus said tiredly.

Sirius heard his tone, saw his box and his face fell. "Again?" He asked sadly.

"Again," Remus confirmed.

"That sucks!" Sirius was angry for his friend. Remus Lupin was the smartest, kindest, awesomest person Sirius knew but because of something Remus couldn't control his life was terrible!

"Don't worry about it, Pads," Lupin replied automatically. Every time he lost his job, the three went through the same routine of anger, resentfulness, drunkenness and grudging hangover acceptance.

"Whazzamatter?" James clumsily stumbled down the stairs. He shakily ran his hand through his shaggy black hair and rubbed his hazel eyes under his glasses. James was obviously drunk.

"What's with him?" Remus whispered.

"Didn't you check the calendar? It's _that_ day," Sirius muttered back.

Oh. Oops. Every Halloween, James got smashed beyond belief because Lily and Harry left all those years ago. James would start crying, begging Remus to tell him what had went wrong, then he would profess his deep love for Lily and Harry before weepily contemplating suicide. Remus and Sirius would do damage control and make sure James got to bed before he could do anything truly stupid. The only day worse than Halloween was Christmas Eve. Years ago, James had gotten an owl informing him of his and Lily's imminent divorce. The letter was untraceable and was the only communication he'd had with her for 15 years.

"Hi, James," Remus said tentatively.

"Remmy~ Why're ya back so… so… what time is it?"

"He got canned again," Sirius said bluntly.

"What?" James said more clearly. He blinked rapidly and seemed to sober up considerably. "What do you mean?"

"He means I was fired. Again. I found his statement to be pretty clear," Remus said teasingly, trying to take the edge off his despair.

"Why?" James demanded.

"Why do you think?" Lupin replied tensely. "Don't worry about it, James! It's happened before and it'll happen again."

"No it won't. Not if I can help it!" James said angrily.

"But you _can't_ help it!" Remus bellowed. "No one can."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, guys!" Sirius stepped in before anything drastic could happen. "It's obvious we need to take a breather or something. A little hiatus, if you will."

James and Remus stared at Sirius.

"What are you suggesting?" Remus asked carefully. He still hadn't forgotten the fondue incident and he'd be damned before he repeated it.

Sirius grinned. "I was going to wait until tomorrow before bringing this up, but Moony got canned and Jamesie's all upset everyone's yelling—"

"Get to the point!" James and Remus cut him off in unison. If you didn't stop Sirius before he went off on a tangent it could be hours before you got a word in edgewise.

Sirius smiled gleefully and said, "Vacation!"

Awkward silence and gaping accompanied Sirius's announcement.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say 'vacation'?" James asked, skeptical yet polite. Years of Pureblood training and conditioning didn't just disappear overnight.

"Indeed I did! Think about it for a minute!" Sirius pleaded. "The three of us wreaking havoc in a foreign country and a different girl every night! It'd be just like old times!"

"Okay, I just thought about it…" Remus said.

"And?" Sirius bounced eagerly.

"IT'S A HORRIBLE IDEA!" Remus exploded.

Sirius's face fell momentarily, but then he said, "Why? Why not? Give me one good reason why we _shouldn't_ go on vacay."

Try as he may, neither Remus nor James could think of an acceptable answer. They just kind of stood there, gaping like goldfish as their brains scrambled for ideas.

"Well… Y-you have the shop…" Remus said weakly. In the past, he had used his work as an excuse not to go since jobs were hard for werewolves to come by, but obviously that wouldn't work anymore.

"I own the shop," Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively. "I can close it for a bit."

"We can't just leave…" James tried.

"Oh really? Why not?" Sirius challenged. James and Remus fell silent. "I thought so! Pack your bags, gentlemen! We're going to New York City!"

_**!**_

"EVANS!" Severus Snape screamed to a seemingly empty house.

"Coming!" Came the distant reply. Severus sighed and closed the front door. No use letting the cold air in. The cosy townhouse had heating problems on the best of days, and late October was _cold_ in New York City. Severus hoped Harry wouldn't take too long. His potions store opened soon and Severus was certain customers were already lining up outside the door. Plus, Severus had to drop Harry off at band practice.

The front door flew open and one Harry Evans stumbled out, attempting to hold his guitar case, put on a sock and walk simultaneously. Severus inspected his resident teenager.

Harry's shoulder-length shaggy hair was held up in a messy ponytail and his mirrored aviators were perched precariously on top of his head. Harry wore his typical teen attire, which composed of a tight band tee, an unzipped jailhouse-stripe hoodie, colorful skinny jeans and scruffy black Converse high tops. Today the band was the Rolling Stones and the jeans were hot pink. In mind of the cold weather, Harry had added a rainbow zebra-print scarf.

Harry's emerald green eyes flashed with annoyance as he lost his balance. Luckily, Severus caught Harry by his bicep before he could fall.

"You forgot your coat," Severus informed him dryly. Harry cursed and ran back into the townhouse. "And your hat!" Severus called after him. It was always the hat Harry forgot, never the scarf.

Harry lurched out of the townhouse again, this time sporting a skull-emblazoned beanie and black leather jacket. He grabbed his guitar case and ran down the outside stairs two at a time. At the bottom of the steps, Harry Evans paused and looked back at his guardian who waited with an vaguely amused expression outside the front door. "Well, what are you waiting for? C'mon, hurry up!" Harry shouted back and threw himself into the car.

Severus smirked. Teenagers.


	4. An Unfortunate Encounter

**A/N: ...I am /soooo/ sorry! I recently switched to a new computer and I've been trying to figure out where my files went... anyway since fall is here and I'm actually going to have important work to slack off from, updates should be coming faster. Enjoy!**

**Previously:**

"**We can't just leave…" James tried.**

"**Oh really? Why not?" Sirius challenged. James and Remus fell silent. "I thought so! Pack your bags, gentlemen! We're going to New York City!"**

_**!**_

If someone had told Severus Snape that he would be the dedicated sole parent to James Potter and Lily Evan's son on that fateful Halloween night, he would have checked them into St. Mungo's himself. But somehow… it had happened. Severus had devoted his life to his family. Lily's son had become his son and Harry had become more family to Severus than any of his theoretical biological spawn could ever hope to be. Severus took care of the boy (providing for him out of Severus's own pocket!) paid for a private magical school so Harry could have a truly amazing education, chauffeured Harry and his friends around to all their band "gigs" and lo—lov—cared for him as any true father would. Hell, some of Harry's friends expressed jealousy at Severus's stellar parenting compared to their parents! How could this have happened?

"Yo! Dad! Wake up!" Severus was forcibly jerked out of his musings by his surrogate son himself. Harry Evans stood in his father's empty potions shop (the early morning rush had finished hours ago and the late afternoon rush hadn't begun yet). Harry's name was a peculiar thing. When Lily and Severus had married, both Lily and Harry had taken the name of Snape. But when Lily died, Severus changed Harry's family name to Evans. At first, Harry had (understandably) protested. Why would Harry want his name to be changed from the name of man who he called father to his dead mother's former name? However, Severus explained it was a tribute to Lily; a way to ensure her memory was never forgotten (Severus would've changed his name to Evans too if his potions fame hadn't been under the name Snape). Harry had agreed.

"Why are you here early?" Severus demanded. "And I wasn't asleep, by the way."

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. Severus's "Fear Me!" act had never worked on him. It was hard to fear a man who'd baked him birthday cakes for as long as he could remember.

"Band practice finished early. Nev's grandmother came by early and you know how she can get." It was true; Augusta Longbottom was a woman to be feared. "Then Draco skipped out on me so I came back here."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "As thrilling as that incredibly descriptive tale was, it did not answer my inquiry. Why did you choose to come here?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno; where else could I go? I can't just wander the streets like a vagrant, not while carrying a guitar case."

"So you came here to drop off your guitar case so you can go wander the streets like a vagrant," Severus guessed.

"Yup!" Harry beamed. Severus sighed.

"Leave it in the back room and I'll take it home with me. Keep your cell phone on, have your wand within easy reaching distance and stay within a 3-block distance of here and the house," Severus lectured routinely. Harry was almost seventeen and was a rather extraordinary wizard (Severus had trained young Harry himself, after all). He fought his fear of Harry getting hurt and dismissed it as idle paranoia. "If you are killed, maimed, seriously injured or kidnapped, you are officially grounded."

"Got it!" Harry smiled widely. "See you later, Dad!" Harry practically skipped out. Severus stared after him. How had he gotten so parental?

_**!**_

"…And here are you room keys!" The smiling receptionist handed Sirius three keycards. "Your room is on the 27th floor."

"Thanks, love," Sirius flirted. The receptionist giggled as Sirius winked and rejoined his friends.

"One for you," Sirius said as he handed James a card. "And one for you," Sirius tossed an unsuspecting Remus a key. Remus, who hadn't really been paying attention, only caught the card due to his supernatural reflexes and shot the smiling Sirius a dirty glare. "And one for me. Let's go!"

Sirius sauntered across the posh lobby of the hotel. Remus and James followed, Remus giving the bellhop who dragged their bags a pitying smile. Why had Sirius packed so much product for his hair? He had far more bags than James and Remus combined!

"Earth to Moony! Come in, Moony!" James waved his hand in front of Remus's face.

"Oh, what? Sorry, must've spaced out there," Remus said.

"As I was saying," Sirius said while repeatedly summoning the elevator by mashing the up button. Like that would make the elevator come faster! "I was just wondering if either of you had any specific things you wanted to do on this vacation—Here's the elevator!"

Sirius shoved James and Remus into the elevator then quickly pressed the button. The doors closed, causing the bellhop to jump back and glare at Sirius. "I think that bellhop hates us," Sirius remarked casually.

"I think he hates you," James teased.

"Now why would anyone want to do that?" Sirius sniffed. "But anyway, ideas?"

"Actually, yes," Remus remarked. "There's a very famous potions store near here that I'd like to check out for my furry little problem."

Sirius and James sported identical expressions of shock and disgust. "Potions? Voluntarily?" They chorused.

Remus grinned. "You could always come with me. I was planning on going today after grabbing a bite to eat."

"Change of plans," Sirius announced as the elevator ding'd and opened its door. "We'll get a late lunch, Moony will go to his potions store and Jamesie and I will take a nap."

_**!**_

Harry waited until no one on the street was paying him any attention then ducked into a small alley. He cautiously cast a glance around to see if anyone was watching (he didn't see anyone) and pulled his wand out from his boot. Harry also retrieved a small skateboard figurine from his pocket and set it on the pavement. Harry unshrunk his board with a flick of his wand then stuck it back in his boot. Harry slipped his mirrored Aviator shades on while skateboarding out of the alley.

Harry started moving down the empty sidewalk when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He reflexively grabbed the hand, jumped off his skateboard and turned hard over his opposing shoulder; hurling the unknown assailant onto the ground with lightning-fast speed. Harry jogged down the road to grab his waywardly rolling skateboard then looked back to see his would-be attacker.

The man currently lying belly-up on the ground didn't seem particularly threatening. He looked about Severus's age with a similar physique: tall, slender and subtly muscular with broad shoulders and a slim waist. He was lightly tanned and he had medium-length light brown hair with natural sandy highlights. His eyes were a strangely-familiar warm brown. Though he was wearing innocuous muggle clothing, Harry could sense his magical aura.

"You okay, there?" Harry asked cautiously clenching his wand tightly out of sight.

"Fine," the man coughed. "Just caught a bit off-guard. Sorry if I scared you, by the way."

"Not a problem." Harry was never scared.

The mystery man stood and brushed himself off while continuing. "I just saw you casting a spell in that alley over there and was wondering if you could help me out."

"You're a wizard too, then?"

"Naturally." The man smiled (what shiny teeth he had!). "I'm actually looking for a potions store that's around here run by a man named Snape. Do you know where it is?"

Harry's face brightened. It was a customer, and from the accent, an overseas one too! "Of course I do! I can take you there if you want," Harry offered.

"That would be lovely. I'm afraid I don't know the area too well; I'm not from here," the man admitted sheepishly.

"No problem. It's this way." Harry turned and started walking, carrying the board under his arm. "What did you say your name was again?" He called back carelessly.

The man easily kept pace with Harry's wide strides. "Remus Lupin, at your service."

Harry froze internally but thanked his lucky stars Severus's teachings prevented any of his emotions from showing on the outside. He continued walking casually while he pondered his rotten luck.

Of all the British wizards that Harry could've seen, it just had to be one of the three Harry hated most in the world! Severus had told Harry of all the horrible things Lupin, Black and Potter had done to him back in their school days, including Severus's first attempt on his life. This Lupin guy was a werewolf; a dangerous Dark creature that even untransformed had the strength and brutality to rip Harry in half. Harry was in big trouble.

"Here we are," Harry said while sweating profusely. He opened the blacked-out glass door and, not spotting Severus, called out, "Mr. Snape? It's Daniel. I know it's your lunch break, but we have an important overseas customer that I think you should see immediately."

_**!**_

Though Severus had been living a completely law-abiding life in America for over a decade, he knew he had numerous angry and dangerous enemies in the UK. In fact, one of the reasons Severus was so keen on moving to America was he wanted a happy, safe life for his family and knew he could not attain that with so many adversaries. In spite of this, Severus still worried about the safety of young Harry when he w as out and about so the two had developed a code. If Harry was ever in trouble, he was to come to Severus's shop and call himself Daniel Prince, Severus's fictional shopkeeping assistant. However, the code was only to be used in the gravest of emergencies.

Upon hearing the codename being used, Snape's blood ran cold. He straightened from where he stooped in the back restocking shelves and swept up the counter, affixing a cold sneer upon his face.

Remus Lupin stood behind Harry. Severus felt his heart stop for a few seconds then start back up double its previous pace. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," Severus mocked. "Mr. Prince, there are boxes in the storeroom that need unloading."

"Yessir," Harry mumbled and flew into the back room, undoubtedly eavesdropping to the best of his ability.

"What are you doing here, wolf?" Severus said, words dripping with ill-concealed venom. He only hoped the wolf could not hear his pounding heart with his supernatural senses.

"Who's the boy, Severus?" Lupin ignored Severus's question and gently responded with one of his own.

"A hired hand, not that it matters. Answer me."

Lupin laughed quietly. "Me? In a potions store? Why do you think? I'm certainly not looking for a weed-killer or a haircolor-changing potion."

"Obviously. Small, medium or large?" Snape recovered quickly and moved to where he stocked his Wolfsbane potion.

"Large, please," Lupin said as he pulled out his pitiful wallet. "I don't suppose you take Galleons, do you?"

"Credit or check if you don't have cash," Severus said as he rung the bottle up.

Lupin handed his credit card over and received the bottle of Wolfsbane. "Thank you, Severus."

Severus sneered elegantly and said, "The world already has one mangy mutt on the loose; it certainly doesn't need another. Now get out of my store."

"Tell the boy, Daniel, I said it was nice meeting him. And have a nice day, Severus," Lupin said as he exited.

"I am not your errand boy," Severus icily informed him and closed the door in Lupin's face.

_**!**_

**A/N: Short chapter is short. But meh. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review!**


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